By Myra P. Saefong, MarketWatch

TOKYO (MarketWatch) — Deal activity in the gold mining sector has reached a record this year and left investors wondering what else is on the miners’ agenda.

“The increased level of M&A activity [mergers and acquisitions] and high prices being paid for gold mining assets suggest that the industry itself is confident that gold’s rise of recent years is set to either continue or consolidate at higher levels,” said Mark O’Byrne, director at GoldCore.

“Recent years have been lean and tough for the gold mining sector even with the gradual increase in prices (some 16.5% per annum),” said O’Byrne. “The healthier-looking outlook and realization that gold prices could remain at these levels and higher for the foreseeable future are leading to a sea change in outlooks — from one of survival to one of growth and expansion.”

And gold miners have indeed been determined to expand.

Gold-related M&A volume is at the highest year-to-date level on record, according to data from Dealogic, whose M&A coverage records began in 1995. Year to date, as of Sept. 15, there have been 507 announced gold-mining-related deals valued at $29.6 billion, compared with 407 valued at $15.0 billion in 2009, Dealogic said.

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